"Everyone, listen to me," Mr. Jones repeated, his voice cutting through the chaos like a blade through water.Slowly, reluctantly, the room quieted. Every pair of eyes remained fixed on him, blazing with opposition, but Mr. Jones met each one without flinching."I'm not saying we welcome him into this family," he began, his voice steady and measured. "I'm not saying we forgive him. I'm not saying we forget what he did to Miranda. What I am saying is that we allow him to see his daughter. Once. Under our terms. In our presence."Colin was the first to respond, his voice tight with barely contained fury. "It can never be a one-time thing, Dad. You know that. If Adrian Cole sees that baby once, he'll come back. And he'll keep coming back. He'll use every legal avenue, every emotional manipulation, every trick in the book until he's a permanent fixture in her life. We let him in even an inch, and he'll take a mile.""That's what boundaries are for," Mr. Vale said quietly, rising from his
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